I get the family’s frustration. I really do. If I had a missing loved one I would raise heaven and earth to try and find them. I would have 100,000 searchers if I could. I would have every type of specialized team imaginable and the most up-to-date technical equipment if I could afford it. However, I also know that a small department covering a vast area has limited resources. I also know that there are guidelines which determine when outside agencies can be brought in to work on a case.
Americans value their freedom. We need to remember that any adult can walk away from their life at any time. Police cannot break into homes or vehicles nor can they search property without a warrant which requires that there must be probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. In the first several days, there was no evidence of foul play In Dylan’s case.
LE was notified 2 days after Dylan was last heard from. In the meantime, farm workers/family friends were combing the area. How careful were they to preserve evidence? Did they touch anything? Did they leave footprints?
LE arrived late afternoon on Monday and within an hour had found what appear to be Dylan’s boots. Dylan’s truck was parked and locked and his trailer showed no sign of forced entry or ransacking.
The ECSO responded to a residence at the instance of Dylan’s parents who told them that someone had told them that Dylan was being held hostage. The report was a hoax.
The family also put out a poster naming a POI who was not named by LE. If that person had turned out to be an actual suspect who was under investigation or surveillance, he was surely tipped off by the careless poster.
These are reasons that LE doesn’t share everything with victims’ families, why they say they won’t release information that may interfere with an investigation. They are also trying to protect against vigilantism. In the case of the hostage hoax, Dylan’s dad said he would take matters into his own hands if ECSO didn’t respond. What if he showed up there with a gun?
The family broke the window of Dylan’s truck so they could move it. We don’t know if LE had left it undisturbed originally so that they could go back to forensically investigate the interior if it turned out that foul play was involved. LE had no right to tow it at that time.
I know Dylan’s family is desperate to find their son. Sometimes when LE is reticent about sharing information, it is to protect them from theirselves. It doesn’t mean they aren’t doing anything.
I‘ve attached some information about Box Elder County and the BESO. The info on the SO’s staffing comes from a 2013 annual report. I could not find a more recent one. I’m sure staff numbers may be a bit higher, but not by much as the population has risen from a bit over 50,000 people to over 54,000 people.
For what it’s worth, BESO received one call to Lucin in 2013.
I’m not trying to be a LE fan boy. It’s possible that LE did make some mistakes here, but we have to remember that they were called in 2 days late to a very compromised location. They are a small department covering a vast area. I am seeing an unwarranted amount of LE bashing, particularly on the official FB page.
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